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There’s only one thing that’s retro about Citroen’s new three-door hatchback, now arriving in European showrooms, and that’s the badge. The DS3 pays homage to perhaps the most futuristic car of the ’50s, Citroen’s big DS sedan, but in every other way it is a completely contemporary car. And it’s this, according to the French brand’s marketing types, that sets the fashionable and highly customizable DS3 apart from its obvious competitors. By labeling the DS3 an “anti-retro” car, Citroen makes it plain it’s going fishing in the same pond as the Mini, but with a different flavor of bait.

Citroen’s design studio has created a car that’s distinctive and pertly proportioned, without once having to consult the company’s back catalog for inspiration. The biggest flourish of the DS3’s visual signature is its tapered, angled B-pillar, known inside the company as the “shark’s fin.” Above it the DS3’s roof appears to float, while the front view is dominated by a wide-mouth grille topped by the new, soft-curve version of Citroen’s double-chevron badge, flanked by curving strips of LEDs. The overall effect is memorable, without resorting to designer weirdness.

Citroen is inviting potential customers to decorate the DS3, with a huge range of options and accessories. There are four different contrasting roof colors, a dozen wheel and wheel-center colors, a choice of colored or chromed rear-view mirror housings, as well as eight different dashboard strip finishes and seven different shift knob colors. If this isn’t enough, there are four factory-applied roof decal designs, with three more to be added in July. Such is the range of choice that Citroen has had to develop a powerful online and point-of-sale ‘configurator’ especially for the DS3.

Despite its unique appearance, the DS3 is built on the same PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) Euro B-car platform as the five-door C3 hatchback launched late in 2009. Wheelbase and axle track are the same, and the two models have similar length and width measurements. The big difference is height, where the DS3’s measurement is significantly lower.

The DS3’s close relationship to a practical five-door is likely the reason it’s a roomier package than the Mini. There’s room enough in the Citroen’ 60/40 split-folding rear seat for passengers up to 6 feet tall, for example, and the luggage compartment’s capacity is 10 cu. ft. Not only is the DS3 more spacious than the Mini, it’s also arguably a better drive in a couple of key areas.

This is a pleasant surprise. Citroen’s lack of suspension and steering savvy has been painfully obvious in recent years, and most of the company’s current lineup isn’t a match for, say, European Fords. But the DS3 is different. Its springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars are all different from the C3, and they’ve been skillfully selected. The recalibration of the electrically assisted rack and pinion steering is also nicely done.

The result is a genuinely agile little car with a useful amount of steering feel, good front-end bite, a trustworthy rear end, secure balance, and a sporty but well-rounded ride (even on the larger 17-inch wheel and tire package; 16s are standard). The Citroen may not have the go-kart sharp steering of the Mini, but neither does it have the go-kart hard ride. For everyday driving, the Citroen definitely feels more livable.

Coincidentally (given the unavoidable Mini comparisons) the most powerful version of the DS3 uses the same 1.6-liter turbo four as found the British-built car. Slightly detuned, the Citroen version of the engine produces 156 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 177 pound-feet between 1400 and 4000 rpm. As the latter number hints, it’s an engine that packs its goodness into the midrange. There’s not a lot of point revving it past 5000 rpm, as acceleration tapers off and you’re left wondering why you bothered. Best to upshift early, the better to access the engine’s broad spread of boosted torque. While a six-speed manual is presently the only transmission option with the 1.6-liter turbo, Citroen has plans to introduce automated versions of its manual gearboxes from next year.

While the turbo DS3 was the only version available for test at the international launch in Paris this month, four other engines are to be offered in Europe. There are two naturally aspirated gasoline-burning options (a 95-horsepower 1.4-liter and a 120-horsepower 1.6-liter) and a pair of turbodiesels (92-horsepower and 112-horsepower versions of the same 1.6-liter; the difference explained by a variable instead of fixed geometry turbo). A limited-edition high-performance version of the DS3, the Racing, is scheduled to be unveiled at the Geneva auto show in early March. Citroen plans to build 1000 cars with a high-boost, 196-horsepower version of the 1.6-liter turbo engine.

The avowedly anti-retro DS3 may spurn Mini’s design aesthetic, but the French seem determined to closely mimic its model lineup. It’s hard not to see the Racing as Citroen’s answer to a John Cooper Works kitted Mini and the regular DS3 turbo as a Cooper S competitor. Likewise, the naturally aspirated gasoline and turbocharged diesel versions have their Mini equivalents.

Shadowing an established brand may seem the safe play for Citroen, but it’s a tactic that sells the DS3 short. It’s a more accomplished car than the Mini in a couple of key areas, including interior packaging and ride comfort. And the DS3 is one more thing, too. It’s the best driver’s car Citroen has produced in years.

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